Currently Reading #5

Alienated (Alienated #1)

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

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I really don't know what to expect here. I'm really not fond of Alien related stuff 'cause I had my own share of wachamacallit? Fed up moments? Well, aside from The Lux Series of course. I find the rundown and the title predictable, but I want to still give it a try and who knows? The book might surprise me. The book cover is gorgeous. Striking. Those kinds of covers that will let you linger for a moment when you're browsing. Definitely worth the Go-Back-One-Page button when you have clicked the Next button too hasty.

Got mixed reviews from readers though. Here's some of the good one:

A surprising hit for me! I expected this to be fantasy SF like I AM NUMBER FOUR, but it's actually very carefully built, fun, romance driven soft-SF. The L'eihr remind me a bit of the Gallifreyans of Doctor Who, with their stilted, supposedly Utopian but actually very troubled society, and Aelyx is a compelling alien romantic interest. And Cara is smart, feisty, and nicely nuanced. Highly recommended for romance fans who are up for sci-fi that's both fun and well-considered. -- Phoebe North

I can't quite put my finger on exactly why, but I just loved this book. Like, every single word of it. It didn't change my life the way Jellicoe Road (or anything by Melina Marchetta) did but I honestly can't think of a single criticism. It was fun and well written with characters I could relate to (even the aliens) and while the blurb made it sound as if it was going to be a little fluffy and silly (which I was looking forward to) it never quite crossed that line? It wasn't overly serious, but it also wasn't just fun reading. -- Caitlings

The negative reviews bothered me. I have so many books lined up to read and I don't want to.. How can I say it? Waste time? Yeah. As straightforward as that.

This book is not sci-fi. It is mindless, brainless, no-thinking-required fluff of the Earth Girls are Easy type. It is the sort of book that gives YA fiction a bad name, because it is so completely frilly in nature. There is no depth to this. There is zero creativity. There is nothing within this book that garners it to be anything other than brain floss. The only good thing about this book is the fact that it has no insta-love. Everything else was just terrible. This book is so insufferably silly. It's a shit ton of stupid high school relationship drama and not much else. -- Khanh

Are you kidding me? Is it a new trend to transform all boring romantic stories into poorly developed SF? Last year it was paranormal, guess the authors turned to more "original" themes this year.
Don't be fooled by the description, this is not SF, only a poor attempt at it. This is actually the story of how a boy and a girl, incompatible at first glance, fall in love. Does it sound familiar? Remember Grease and any other story that shows one of the partners trying to accept the other's world and life style? This is the exact same story, just far more poorly executed than the average out there.
This book was like the Lux series that, despite having a total geek fall for a hot guy, had no depths whatsoever. Cardboard characters put together in a overly used story. Why is her boyfriend a dick? Why is her best friend a sassy girlfriend? Really, these characters are such painful stereotypes. -- Tessa

I'm so sad. This cover is gorgeous and wonderful. And this book gets a star for it. The rest, I'm so sad to say, was just silly. I couldn't get into it! With ridiculous phrases ("Leaping lords") and even more cringe-worthy dialogue, I actually had to force myself to keep reading. I had to keep looking at the cover thinking "Yes, this is really what's inside." And it's such a great missed opportunity, because the idea was interesting and even some of the plot points were interesting concept but I just could not connect with the execution. -- Trisha

Now. See where I'm getting? Hopefully, I would love the book or not to be disappointed at the least. I really want to like it though. Seems interesting despite of obvious reasons I mentioned. Wish me luck. Book review to follow. Happy reading to me! :D